Allergic To Dairy Products? Derive Your Calcium Needs From These Foods

Listed here are a few non-dairy foods that are rich in calcium. Check them out.

By Shubhra Prasenjit Dey

Tuesday, June 27, 2017, 15:07

Calcium, found in certain foods is an essential mineral that is required to be consumed for maintaining healthy bones. It is also essential for the proper functioning of muscles and nerves.

It is an indispensable nutrient required for many physiological functions in the body like blood vessel expansion and contraction, muscle contraction, hormone and enzymes secretion and signal transmission.

Deficiency of calcium in the body can lead to osteoporosis (weak bones), loss of muscle movement, nervous disorders, convulsions, loss of appetite, lethargies, etc.

Although dairy products are highly rich in calcium, they also add to fat deposition in the body which might make one obese.

Another reason being a lot of people are lactose averse these days which might cause severe allergy with intake of dairy foods.

However, in spite of this, it is very important that our body receives its daily requirement of calcium. Therefore, we can always trust on the below-mentioned non-dairy products to keep us calcium rich:

1. Seafoods:

Good news for sea-food lovers. Sea-foods like anchovies, pink salmon, sardines, shrimps and crabs are not just protein suppliers, but also provide a high dose of calcium (approx. 100 to 300 mg) per 100 gm of serving.

2. Nuts:

Many dried fruits are high in calcium. In fact, eating five dried figs per day gives you 135 mg of calcium. Almonds also have a good content of calcium in them. 100 grams of almonds come with approximately 264 mg of calcium supply. Nuts can be easily added to our diet as a 4 pm snack or had along with a salad.

3. Grains:

Grains like quinoa, rajma, bajra, etc. are rich in calcium and are probably the easiest way to fulfil our calcium requirement as it can be easily included in our daily meals.

4. Chia Seeds:

Very popular as a super-food; 100 gm of chia seeds approximately contain around 631 mg of calcium. Highly versatile and easily digestible; these seeds can be added to one's diet in puddings or pancakes or muffins.

5. Legumes:

Name any kind of legume, whether beans, soy or dals, they are all rich in calcium. They can be incorporated in your diet in many forms, easiest being part of a meal.

6. Oatmeal:

This power-packed food is an awesome breakfast food item with high calcium content and lots of fibre which increases calcium absorption into the blood. It is always advisable to consume it without any added sugar.

7. Orange:

This sweet and tangy fruit comes with 60 mg of calcium. Enjoy the fruit either as a mid-morning snack or in the form of juice.

8. Vegetables:

No diet is complete without a bowl of these green fresh leafy vegetable salads. Spinach, celery, broccoli, turnips, etc. are some examples of vegetables with abundant calcium in them.

9. Tofu:

A very good replacement of non-dairy products, tofu is basically a soy product that is rich in protein, calcium and little fat. This is a complete meal in itself. What more can we ask for?

10. Sesame Seeds:

These white little seeds of wonder are very high in calcium and other vitamins and minerals. Per 100 gm, raw sesame seeds possess almost 1000 mg of calcium. Tahini butter (sesame seed-based nut butter) has 426 mg of calcium per 100 gm serving.

Well now that you have the knowledge, happy strong bones and super white teeth!